US Foreign Policy and western interventions are responsible for massive destruction since the turn of the century, say former US Intelligence analysts Ray McGovern und Elizabeth Murray. The invasion of Iraq, the military intervention in Libya or the support of radical rebel groups in Syria have led to utter chaos in the region. The US government and its allies have “allowed a Frankenstein to be created” while Intelligence was constantly ignored.

Guests:

Ray McGovern, former senior CIA analyst of Russian foreign policy, whose duties included preparing the President’s Daily Brief and chairing National Intelligence Estimates. Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East in the National Intelligence Council of the U.S. government. Member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

The US government and its allies have “allowed a Frankenstein to be created”. Intelligence was ignored while 60 rebel groups in Syria have been supported that later defected to IS. The situation in the Middle East is “completely out of control”, say Elizabeth Murray und Ray McGovern. The US strategy in Syria looks like the Israeli one: “Keep the pot boiling”, so that Syria is blocked as a major player in the region, says McGovern. There could only be a solution of the crisis if all involved countries get together to find a diplomatic arrangement. And Saudi Arabia must be stopped supporting IS. But the real trigger of the chaos in the Middle East and the resulting refugee crisis was the US invasion in Iraq. In Germany no one talks about that. If the German government doesn’t want more refugees to come to Europe it should rethink its relationship to the US, especially the drone warfare.

One of the heads of the prestigious think tank Stratfor said famously in December that the coup in Kiev, Ukraine on 22nd of February 2014 was the “most blatant coup in the history of mankind”. The Coup d’etat was organized with the support of Western services and “proto-fascists as the spear point of this Maidan coup”, says McGovern. Russian president Vladimir Putin couldn’t accept that. It is promising that the US is now excluded from the top four negotiators but still are represented in the negotiations by “US puppet” Poroschenko, Ukraine’s president. If Merkel and Holland are not able to persuade the US “then we have real problems”. McGovern: “The Minsk Accords need to be implemented. They are good accords. It’s just that people need to follow through”. Kiev has to concede East Ukraine a certain amount of regional autonomy. This is what people in the East are aiming for not separation or annexation with Russia, as commonly reported.

After the intervention in Libya the country has drifted into chaos. The chances for rebuilding the country are pretty low. Iraq has been torn to shreds. The West and its “humanitarian interventions” are co-responsible for the current situation in these countries, says Murray. Instead of intervening militarily the US and its allies should have sought diplomatic talks. The same would be true for Syria. You don’t have to like Gaddafi or Assad. But no one including the US has the right to decide which head of state has to go. McGovern makes clear that there can’t be any solution in Syria without Assad for the time being. The alternative would be the Islamic State. Thee former CIA analyst is skeptical that the Obama administration is "up to the task”.

There is no justification for mass surveillance after 9/11. It is illegal under US constitution. That Germans who know so much about the Stasi now seem so indifferent about mass surveillance troubles McGovern. The argument that one has nothing to hide would be totally naïve. It would be the administration to decide about how to use the data. Blackmailing would be only one of many possibilities. There is a need for Edward Snowdens also in Germany as the Netzpolitik scandal shows, says Murray. In the US, these journalists would now likely be in prison. We are living there in the US in a “new Stasi state”. But as in the US, German media would downplay the issue. But journalists should keep going against the threat of a surveillance state. “It's a danger to us all”.